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Nuggets even series with Blazers at 2 with 116-112 victory

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his second straight triple-double and fourth of the playoffs, and the Denver Nuggets evened their Western Conference semifinal series against the Trail Blazers at 2-2 with a 116-112 victory on Sunday.

Jamal Murray led all scorers with 34 points and made all 11 free throws for the Nuggets, who handed Portland their first postseason loss at home this season. The series now heads back to Denver for Game 5.

CJ McCollum had 29 points and Damian Lillard added 28 for the Blazers, who missed out on taking a 3-1 lead in a conference semifinals for the first time since 2000.

It was less than 48 hours after Portland’s epic 140-137 quadruple-overtime victory to take a 2-1 lead in the series. It was only the second game in playoff history that went to four OTs. The other was in 1953.

“Our guys are tough. We’re resilient,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I mean, to come in here and win this game 36 hours after losing in four overtimes, speaks to just how tough we are.”

Denver outscored the Blazers 27-14 in the third quarter to take an 84-77 lead into the fourth. Malik Beasley kicked off the final period with a 3-pointer for the Nuggets.

Al-Farouq Aminu’s tip pulled the Blazers within 99-96 with 4:12 to go. Lillard narrowed the gap to one with a pair of free throws, but Will Barton hit a 3-pointer and the Nuggets held off Portland down the stretch, thanks largely to Murray’s free throw shooting.

Rodney Hood’s 3-pointer got the Blazers within 110-107 with 52 seconds left and Lillard’s layup got the Blazers even closer to 112-110 with 7.7 seconds to go.

But Murray’s free throws gave Denver a four-point lead. McCollum hit a long jumper that after a video replay was ruled a 2 and Denver prevailed for the win.

“It is disappointing. You go up 3-1 and you have a lot of momentum and obviously that would be a great position to be in. But they’re a good team, they came out and played well,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “We had a bad third quarter and that kind of made the difference. We made a good comeback, but now it’s a three-game series.

Jokic played 65 minutes in the quadruple-overtime loss, the fourth-most minutes in NBA playoff history and just two short of the record. McCollum led the Blazers with 60 minutes.

Fatigue was more of a concern for the second-seeded Nuggets, who had just one day off after their seven-game, first-round series against San Antonio. The Blazers dispatched of first-round opponent Oklahoma City in five games, clinching their first trip to the conference semifinals since 2016 on Lillard’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Enes Kanter started for Portland despite ongoing concerns about his left shoulder, which he injured in Game 5 against the Thunder. He and Jokic have been physical adversaries through the first three games, and Kanter said after Friday’s game that the shoulder separation was worse and wasn’t sure he could play.

Seth Curry made three straight 3-pointers — all in the space of a minute — to put Portland up 53-46 in the second quarter. Curry added a 3 at the buzzer to send Portland into halftime with a 63-57 lead.

Curry, the younger brother of Golden State’s Stephen Curry, had 16 points in the first half, 14 of them in the second quarter.

The Nuggets opened the second half with an inspired 10-2 run to go up 67-65. Paul Millsap’s 3-pointer gave Denver a 78-72 lead, and after a couple of calls that went against Portland and drew the ire of the Moda Center fans, Jokic added a bank shot.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Torrey Craig, who got a bloody nose in Game 2 and wore a mask in Game 3, didn’t wear it on Sunday. ... The Nuggets finished 3-1 in the regular-season series against the Blazers. ... The two teams have met twice in the playoffs before, with each team winning once.

Trail Blazers: Jusuf Nurkic, who broke his leg late in the season, was at the game and got an ovation when he showed up courtside late in the opening quarter. Kanter, who signed with the Blazers just before the All-Star break after he was waived by the Knicks, replaced Nurkic in the starting lineup. Nurkic was awarded with the Maurice Lucas Award for the player that best represents Lucas’ indomitable spirit both on the court and in the community.

TIME OFF:

Both teams took a day off on Saturday after the marathon that was Game 3.

“Obviously a lot of emotions coming out of that game on Friday night, got together this morning and watched film, talked about the game, and then turned the page and got ready for today. And I think all our guys are in a good place mentally,” Malone said about reconvening on Sunday.

UP NEXT

The series moves to Denver for Game 5 on Tuesday.

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